Family Medicine

Richard Steward, DO
Family Medicine Program Director

Letora Washington, DO

Family Medicine Associate Program Director

Vee Weekes
Program Coordinator
Email: vweekes@ehs.org

General Information

Thank you for your interest in the Family Medicine Residency Program at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital! We are a community-based, medical school-affiliated program located in Far Rockaway, New York.

Our program combines academics and education with hands-on, direct patient care. We are committed to provide the best possible educational experience for our residents while providing a warm and supportive educational environment. Our program provides access to quality health care for our community with compassion and respect for all.

We invite you to check us out and see what we have to offer to our future family physicians. Best of luck with your search for the right residency!

Program Highlights:

ACGME Accreditation

Our Family Medicine Residency Program has been ACGME Accredited since 2018.

Board Pass Rate

Our program pass rate for American Board of Family Medicine is 100%.

Didactics

Our program offers didactics that focus on many specialty and subspecialty areas. Didactics include: Journal Club (residents present recent journal clubs), board review sessions, specialty-specific lectures provided by residents and attendings, training sessions for procedures provided by device manufacturers such as IUD and Nexplanon insertions, and pharmaceutical company representatives provide insight on new medications and updated indications for drug utilization. We also have a simulation lab to practice to and become proficient in a number of procedures.

Diverse Patient Population

Our community includes a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds along with various medical conditions/pathologies.

Curriculum

The Family Medicine Program at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital follows a 4-week rotation system (13 rotation blocks for the year).

PGY 1

• Inpatient Medicine (16 weeks)
  • 2 months will involve a 2-week night float (Sunday night – Friday night)
• Outpatient Medicine (4 weeks)
• General Surgery (4 weeks)
• Obstetrics/Gynecology (4 weeks)
• Pediatrics (4 weeks)
• Emergency Medicine (4 weeks)
• Sports Medicine (4 weeks)
• Critical Care Elective (4 weeks)
  • Choice between ICU, CCU, cardiology, or pulmonology
• Medical Elective (4 weeks)
• ½ day of ambulatory medicine weekly throughout the year

PGY 2

• Inpatient Medicine (12 weeks)
• Outpatient Medicine (4 weeks)
• Obstetrics/Gynecology (8 weeks)
• Pediatrics (8 weeks)
• Emergency Medicine (4 weeks)
• Integrative Medicine (4 weeks)
• Ambulatory Medicine (4 weeks)
• Palliative Care (4 weeks)
• 1½ day of ambulatory medicine weekly throughout the year

PGY 3

• Inpatient Medicine (8 weeks)
  • 4 weeks of which you will be responsible for managing the full inpatient medical team
• Outpatient Medicine (4 weeks)
• Obstetrics/Gynecology (4 weeks)
• Pediatrics (4 weeks)
• Emergency Medicine (2 weeks)
• Population Health (2 weeks)
• Integrative Medicine (2 weeks)
• Sports Medicine (2 weeks)
• Medical Elective (4 weeks)
• Surgical Elective (4 weeks)
• Additional Electives (8 weeks)
• Systems Based Management (4 weeks)
• 1½ day of ambulatory medicine weekly throughout the year

*subject to changes each academic year

Electives

Family Medicine Residents can choose from a variety of electives. Residents can repeat a regularly scheduled rotation or request a new elective to meet their individual preferences.

Medical Elective

• Allergy and Immunology
• Cardiology
• Dermatology
• Pathology
• Endocrinology
• Hematology
• Gastroenterology
• Infectious Disease
• Nephrology
• Neurology
• Oncology
• Palliative Care
• Pulmonology
• Psychiatry
• Integrative Medicine
• Radiology
• Geriatrics

Surgical Elective

• Anesthesia
• ENT
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopedics
• Urology
• Wound Care

Benefits

Residents have the ability to be part of the Committee of Interns and Residents SEIU Healthcare (union for residents and fellows).

Click here to learn more.

• Education allowance: $1,200 per academic year
  • Allowance should be used for the purchase of the following materials:
    • Books and journals, CD ROMs, audio visual tapes, cassettes, NY state mandated licenses and NJ state mandated licenses (for residents that rotate in NJ), medical equipment, personal data assistants, conference tuition, registration fees, reasonable expenses for travel and lodging, board fees or board review courses and educational/professional software
• Vacation: 4 weeks of vacation (paid) each year

• Sick days: 12 days of sick leave per year (unused days carry over)
• Personal days: 4 days of personal leave per year (unused days do not carry over)
• Other leaves offered: family and medical leave, maternity/paternity leave, marriage leave, disability leave, bereavement leave

Past Graduates

Where are they now

New York, New Jersey, California, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Connecticut, Illinois, Mississippi

Additional Training

2^nd Residencies: Dermatology and Ophthalmology (double boarded)

Fellowships

Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Addiction and Pain Medicine, Sports Medicne

Additional Board Certifications

American Board of Lifestyle Medicine and American Board of Obesity Medicine

Employed

Private Practice, Hospital-based, Multi-specialty Practice, Hospitalist, Urgent Care

Current Residents

PGY-1

	Name	Hometown	Medical School	Medical Interests
	Zohaib Ahmed, DO	Frisco, TX	West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine	Primary Care
	Gislaine Bernabe, MD	Haiti	Caribbean Medical University School of Medicine	Geriatrics, Integrative Health, and Healthcare Administration
	James Chin, DO	Branchburg, NJ	Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine - Middletown	Hospitalist Medicine, Sports Medicine
	Nisha Desai, MD	Fair Lawn, NJ	Saint James School of Medicine Anguilla	Primary Care
	Mellessa Keago, MD	Guyana	Ross University School of Medicine	Primary Care and Academic Medicine
	Madeline Kidd, DO	Los Angeles, CA	Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine - New York	Preventive Medicine, Nutrition, Reproductive Medicine, and Endocrinology
	Moona Nadeem, DO	Westchester, NY	Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine - Middletown	Preventive Medicine, Women's Health, and Neuromuscular Medicine
	Anju Punchamannil, DO	Brooklyn, NY	New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine	Women’s Health, Preventive Medicine, and Global Health
	Maria Santos Rodriguez, MD	Levittown, Puerto Rico	Universidad Iberoamericana (UNIBE) School of Medicine, Santo Domingo	Primary Care and Dermatology
	Abhishek Sharma, MD	Beverly Hills, MI	Ross University School of Medicine	Preventive Medicine, Public Health, Women’s & Children’s Health
	Harkarit Singh, DO	Queens,NY	William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine	Primary Care

PGY-2

PGY-3